Dinner Parties, Blue Dresses & Olive Juice
by NPD18
Summary: [HCR] Whilst working on a case Calleigh is forced to go to a dinner party but has nobody to go with and won't know most of the people there. A case rattles Horatio as the victim seems just too familliar.
1. Ramblefied Calleigh

**Dinner Parties, Blue Dresses and Olive Juice**

**A/N: **This is only my first proper Miami fic since the last one was a challenge and doesn't count lol. Umm hopefully this isn't too much like the CSI episode "Butterflied" at the start; it's not supposed to be. The concept has been used so many times before probably, but I don't care. This is going to be one of those fics which has like loads of sub plots rolled into one, but this chapter only hints on two. Ummm… what to say, what to say lol, oh yeah, this is a Horatio & Calleigh fic! ) Sorry this chapter is so short!

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing!

**Dedicated To: **Okay so she's had more fics dedicated to her than most people have had hot dinners, but hey, this one's dedicated to you Becs! This is because a.) You got me to being the HCR fan I am now, and b.) You are the best inspiration!

Also dedicated to Kerry because she's been sat here helping me for the past half hour lol and so she needs a mention.

-

The room was cold. Not that this was unusual of the room he was in, but Horatio seemed to notice it more than usual as he watched Alexx collect finger prints from the dead girl who had not yet been identified. There was something strangely familiar about the blonde woman lying still on the metal table, her body blue from the cold. Horatio shrugged it away though, listening to Alexx explaining what she'd found, a million theories going over and over in his head. Theories were all he had.

"I pulled out several bullets; two from her chest and one from the wound on her thigh. She was shot in the leg first, probably to stop her running, and then twice in the chest and once in the head,"

"We found two bullets at the scene," Horatio said, still thinking.

Alexx shook her head slowly as she stepped back from the body, "Someone just didn't want you to have that baby did they, sugar? Damn it Horatio, who shoots someone who's less than a month away from having a baby?"

It was Horatio's turn to shake his head. His job was hard at the best of times, but it was cases like this one that really bothered him. It bothered him that he could be part of a race that could do something like that to another person. Now that he was close to the body, he could see the look of shock in her green eyes, the first thing he'd noticed when they'd found in her in the alleyway that morning.

"I don't know Alexx, but I intend to find out,"

Just as he was turning toward the door, a rather flustered looking Calleigh came in, her long blonde hair hanging loosely at her shoulders, a confused expression on her face, "Uh Horatio, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Would you excuse me for a moment Alexx?" His usual expression fixed firmly on his face; he followed Calleigh out to the corridor, "What can I do for you Calleigh?"

Quickly, she explained her situation to a curious Horatio, going into a panicked voice which made her accent stand out even more. She had been invited to a dinner party for her father's birthday party, but had been given absolutely no notice whatsoever, "So now I have to go to this thing, except I can't because I need to work, and we have a case and…"

"Go," Horatio silenced her for a moment.

"I can't go though! That's the point. I am meant to go with someone, and I have no one to take. If I show up alone, I'm going to look stupid, and well I'm going to have a huge space next to me aren't I. You don't get it, when he arranges things like this, he really arranges them properly, with the little place marks and everything. And he **always **expects **everyone** to bring someone,"

Horatio couldn't help but smile. Her father was a known alcoholic, though he had pretty much steered away from the drink for the past year or so, but it just seemed strange that he would be so organised when it came to parties. Calleigh certainly wasn't joking though, "When is it?"

"I'm his daughter, I…" The blonde stopped mid-sentence and it took a moment for his question to register, "Uh tonight,"

"When you say tonight, do you mean tonight or this evening?"

Calleigh ran a hand through her hair, "I have to be there at 8,"

"I'll pick you up at half seven then,"

"What!"

Horatio smiled, sensing the shock and confusion in her eyes, "You need someone to go with you, right? Well Speed and Delko have just finished on their case; they can take over ours for tonight, right?"

Before Calleigh had a chance to say anything, Horatio had gone through the door and had disappeared. Shaking her head, she started back down the corridor herself, heading for the locker room. _I guess I need to go hunt for that blue dress after all._


	2. I have some bad news

**Dinner Parties, Blue Dresses and Olive Juice**

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews! I am sorry it's taken me so long to continue, but I had an urge to write a House fic before hand, so my attention was split two ways. This chapter should explain the title a little more.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing! (Literally, I live in a cardboard box and wear bin liners…)

-

By the time Calleigh got to her apartment after work, it was already half 6, meaning she had an hour to get ready before Horatio arrived. Luckily, the dress didn't take much finding, and after a ten minute shower, she was ready to get dressed. Her hair still wet, she tied it into a twist at the back of her head, not caring what it looked like, since once she'd got the hairdryer out, she'd undo it anyway, hopefully leaving her with slightly wavy golden locks. Humming to herself she opened her closet and knelt down to find her shoes, the only pair that went with the dress. As she bent down, she thought she heard something behind her, but there was nothing there, so she continued to look through the pile of shoes.

-

Horatio's car pulled out of the car lot at precisely 6:45, he'd timed it perfectly. Still enough time to pick up his suit from the dry cleaners, not that he didn't already have too many in his closet, but it was his favourite one and probably the smartest of all. Though Calleigh hadn't actually said what he should come wearing, the fact that there would be place markings meant he definitely needed a smart outfit. This couldn't help but make him wonder what she would be wearing.

After picking up his dry cleaning, he got home with twenty minutes to get dressed if he spared ten for picking up his 'date' for the evening, though he hadn't thought of her that way until that split second when he looked at the clock. They weren't going on a date, he was merely helping out a friend. Dressing as quickly as he could, he was soon out of the house and on the road towards Calleigh's apartment. On his way, he grew increasingly nervous; his thoughts drifting back to what he'd find when he knocked on her door, so that when he actually arrived, right on time, he sat in his car for a moment, wondering. Finally, he got out and walked up to her door, knocking loudly on the wood.

"Come in, it's open," A familiar voice yelled out at him.

Pushing open the door, Horatio was greeted by the back end of his 'date', who was still going through the bottom of her closet. A flying shoe just missed his face. Calleigh turned around, a blush on her soft face. A part from her expression, she looked amazing, her blonde hair hanging loosely down from where it had fallen, and even without make-up, she was perfect. His eyes moved down to her dress, which was of a blue velvet nature, and showed off her figure, even if she hadn't had time to smooth it out. As she stood up to apologize, Horatio's heart fell for her.

"Calleigh, I have some bad news,"

A serious look of worry replaced the embarrassment on her face, "Oh god… what?"

"The back of your dress… it's got a rip in it…" He rested a hand on the place he meant, an odd feeling going up his arm as he did so, "You got another dress?"

A red tint to her cheeks again, Calleigh yanked on the doors of her closet and pulled back several plastic-covered outfits, most of which were work clothes. At the very back, a dusty looking dress was all that was left, and she had no idea where it was from. Without saying a word, she pulled it out and blew some of the dust off of the plastic cover. The dress itself was also blue, but a deeper shade, and made from satin rather than velvet. Calleigh was speechless as she held it up to herself, finding it to be the right size and of a good length too.

"I have no idea where this came from, but I'm wearing it,"

-

The hall Calleigh's father had booked was a large building with a huge car lot at the front of it, and a balcony with a view of the sea round the back. Guests were already beginning to arrive when she and Horatio arrived; another thing adding to Calleigh's nerves. As she stepped out of the car; Horatio holding the door open of course; she couldn't help but let out a sigh. Each time she bothered showing up to one of these dinner parties, another half a dozen people she'd never met came cooing around her, asking about her job and such things that they obviously weren't really interested in. She was amazed her dad even had that many friends to invite in the first place.

"You okay?"

Calleigh faked a smile, "Yes I'll be fine,"

Inside, the room was practically full already, with several couples laughing way too loud to be natural and making far too much small talk for Calleigh's liking. _Hasn't anyone ever heard of keeping to themselves? _She thought as the minute she entered a woman in a white gown came bouncing up to her, a huge smile on her face. Before she knew it, Calleigh was caught in a tight embrace with the woman who she didn't even recognise.

"Oh! Aren't you just the most beautiful thing alive! Look Camilla, it's Calleigh, Kenwall's daughter! My, aren't you looking amazing? I haven't seen you since you were… about 10 years old! Then again, I always said you'd grow up to be of model potential. My Geraldine, she's gone into the fashion business, could get you an agent…"

Calleigh's face turned from shock to disgust. Didn't this woman realize that she was old enough to make her own decisions, and had a career she was more than happy with already? Pulling out of the hug, she felt Horatio's reassuring hand on her back, and she smiled inside, remembering she was not alone, "Thanks… didn't my father tell you, I'm a CSI… I get paid to play with guns,"

Horatio chuckled knowingly at that last comment, understanding that she was just trying to lose the woman's interest. Once the woman left, Horatio found them some seats at the side, admiring the huge table that he guessed they would be sitting at to eat. Calleigh shuffled nervously in the metal chair, staring out across the room, and thinking. Why had he been willing to go with her? And what the hell did the hand on her back mean? Calleigh had always thought her affection for him was a one way thing, but she was now thinking she'd maybe been wrong. Brushing it off, she turned to Horatio, a smile on her face.

"I guess this isn't so bad…"

Before he had a chance to say anything, someone practically ran toward them, his arms open and soon he was hugging Calleigh tightly. Horatio chuckled for the second time that night.

"Lamp chop, you made it!"

Calleigh frowned and mouthed a single word to Horatio, "Uhto,"

-

_A/N: there it is chapter 2! Please tell me what you think! I do know where this fic is going now, finally lol. And the next chapter won't take so long to write, I swear! It will also focus a little more on that case I mentioned at the start since I was meant to focus on both )_


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